Remembering what has been lost since 9/11

The ten-year anniversary of 9/11 brings back painful memories for many of this country’s residents. And while 9/11 has become a day of solemn remembrance, it has also become a day of great patriotism—a day when we are all proud to be Americans. In the face of so much pride, then, it is especially important to remember that the years after 9/11 have seen the erosion of some of the values that we most proudly associate with this country.

Standing together over the past decade, we have been shocked at the horror of 9/11 and the tragic loss of innocent lives cut short. As America gathered over the weekend to honor those we lost and remind ourselves of the greatness of this nation, it is important to draw attention to those within our midst who still suffer from the implications of 9/11: all of America’s immigrants. After 9/11, immigrants have been depicted as drains on society and dangers to national security. Fear of another attack mixed with xenophobic rhetoric drove the so-called “terror babies” myth of children born to Muslim American women, destined to use their status as US citizens to perpetrate terrorist attacks on the U.S., and continues to fuel “anchor baby” rhetoric that has targeted Latinas in an ongoing effort to scapegoat undocumented immigrants for America’s social and economic woes.

These misleading and dangerous narratives depict women flocking to US shores to take advantage of the 14th amendment’s provision of citizenship to those born in the US. The way this fiction goes, the children of immigrant mothers become anchors that draw their extended families to the US, eventually acquiring citizenship and proceeding to live large on the dime of the government, thanks to our robust social safety net programs.

After 9/11, we eventually recovered our morale, but too often this patriotism has been tainted by fear and hatred directed at those who are not “like us.” The passage of national security and immigration enforcement laws that encourage racial profiling, is not only dangerous, it weakens the values of this great country and put women of color at increased risk of violence. While rallying behind a banner of strength and unity, we marginalized certain groups—immigrants, Latinos, South Asian Americans, Muslim Americans and those of Middle Eastern descent—with humiliating remarks and dehumanizing treatment.

This should not stand. As we commemorate the fallen of 9/11 this year, let’s also remember: 9/11 was a horrific act of violence and an affront to the values that this country stands for, but we, as a country, must stand up for the values and rights that have made this country what it is – by defending the rights and dignity of immigrant and Muslim women and by steadfastly refusing to let xenophobia, fear, or misinformation harm anyone living in this great nation.